Adapter



Apr. 17, 1923. 1,452,321

L. STENDAHL ADAPTER Filed March 51, 1922 v mvamun Loan/1c; 6 TENDHHL ATTORNEY Patented Apr. 17, 1923.

UNITED STATES 1,452,321 PATENT OFFICE.

LUDWIG STEN'DAHL, OF FAIRFIELD, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO THE BRYANT ELEC- TRIO COMPANY, OF BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT, A CORPORATION OF CONNECTICUT.

ADAPTER.

Application filed March 81, 1922. Serial No. 548,368.

To all whom it may concern:

' Be it known that I, LUDWIG STENDAHL, a

subject of the King of Sweden, residing at Fairfield, in the county of Fairfield and b State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Adapters, of which the following is a specification.

My inventionrelates to adapters, and particularly to anadapter of the switch type. 10 The object of my invention is to provide an adapter with a switch of eflicient and serviceable character housed within the plug area of the fitting.

In the accompanying drawings- Fig. 1 is a side elevation of an adapter in which my invention is embodied in one form;

Fig. 2 is a similar view at right angles t Fig. 1, and showing certain portions of the 20 adapter broken away;

Fig. 3 is a broken vertical section through the fitting drawn to a larger scale, but with the receptacle casing omitted; and

Figs. 4 and 5 are sections on the lines 4-4 25 and 55, respectively, Fig. 3.-

' The present device comprises an insulating body formed by a pair of insulating buttons 6 and 7 spaced apart by standards 8 and 9, to which they are secured by holding 30 screws 10, 11, 12 and 13 (Figs. 2 and 3).

The button 6 is shaped to aflord a projecting nose upon which the center contact 14 at the plug end of the adapter is,mounted.

Surrounding the button is the screw shell side contact 15 which has a flange 16 engaged by the holding screw of the stand- 'ird 8, through which current is led to the screw shell 17 mounted on the button 7 and forming the side contact of the adapter receptacle. The screw shells and 17 are thus in constant electrical connection.

Arranged within the screw shell 15 is a sleeve 18 of insulation which forms the side wall of the switch chamber afi'orded between F the buttons 6 and 7 by the spacing standards 8 and 9. Within this-chamber and resting upon the inner face of the button 6 are switch contacts 19 and 20, with which cooperates the rotary switch bar 21'. The contact 19 is formed by the offset flange of the strap 22, the opposite end of which is secured b rivet 23 to the center contact 1 1 of the plug. The switch contact is formed by the offset foot piece of the standard 9, which is connected by the holding screw 12 to the base of the center contact 24 of the adapter receptacle. The circuit from the center con tact 14 of the plug end of the adapter to the center contact 24 of the receptacle end of the adapter is therefore controlled by the rotation of the switch bar 21.

The mechanism for operating the switch bar may be of any suitable type. I have shown, for example, the switch bar provided with cam wings 25 enga ing the cam flanges 26 of a rota cu mem er, substantially as shown in the en oldt Patent No. 1,400,37 6, December 13, 1921. As in that patented construction, the switch bar travels a hill and valley course formed in part by ratchet teeth bosses 2 7 on the inner face of the button 6, and in part by the lip-turned flanges of the switch contacts 19 and 20. The spindle 28 on which the switch bar freely rotates, is fast with the flange cup 26, which is accommodated in a well formed in the .inner face of button 6 and shouldered to support the bearing plate 29. At its other end the spindle is ournalled in boss 30 on the inner face of the button 7. The switch sprin 31 surrounds the spindle and is engage between the switch bar and the ratchet plate 32, the latter fast on the spindle. Cooperating with the. ratchet plate 32 is a pawl plate 33 carried by the insulating chain rail plate 34. The return spring 35 for the awl plate is tensioned by the operation 0 the pull chain 36, carried to the exterior of the fitting through an opening 37 in the insulating lining 18 and guided in a groove 38 in the inner face of the button 7. The screw shell 16 is also cut away at 39 to afl'ord clearance for the chain at this point. I

It will be noted that the switch mechanism is arranged in a chamber lying within the plug area of the adapter, and that the pull chain emerges from the fitting at the outer end of this chamber, i. e., through the groove in the inner face of button 7 interposed between the plug and receptacle or cap of the fitting. An extremely compact device is thus provided.

In order to form the receptacle, screw shell 17 is surrounded by an insulating sleeve 40 and a metallic casing 41. The latter is secured to the button 7 by sciews 42 passing through bayonet'slots cut in its inner margin, and taking into tapped holes in the flanges 43 of bracket elements let into the button '5 and held by screws 44. A flanged finishing ring slipped over the plug end of the fitting and bearing against the margin of button 7 through an insulating ring washer 46, is pierced to accommodate the screws 42 by which it also is secured in position. The rin 45 carries the bell mouth guide for the pull chain 36.

-While various modifications in details of the switch construction and arrangement of parts will readily occur to those dealing with the problem, the construction shown is serviceable, and workmanlike, and afiords a switched fitting of ample capacity to safely handle ordinary domestic lighting circuits, while at the same time possessing the valuable merits of compactness and neatness of appearance. It will be observed from Fig. 2 that an adapter of the present type spaces the lamp 47 from the receptacle 48 only the length of the screw shell 17 plus the relatively thin button 7 In this respect the device is a marked improvement over prior switch board adapters in which the switch mechanism is arranged between its plug area and its receptacle area.

I am aware that it has heretofore been preferred to arrange a switch within the plug area of an adapter, but such constructions have not been practical for handling lighting currents, and do not embody the features which I claim as my invention.

I claim- 1. In an adapter, a pair of insulating buttons, standards spacing the same apart to afford a switch chamber, a screw shell surrounding said chamber, a switch mechanism arranged therein, a center contact amociated with said shell to form therewith the plug contacts of. the fitting, a second pair of screw shell and center contactsforming the receptacle contacts of the fitting, means for connecting one of the plug contacts and one of the receptacle contacts to one of the standards to establish constant electrical connection therebetween, a switch terminal associated with the other of the plug contacts,

a cooperating switch terminal associated Lasasar with the other s acing standard, and a. switch member for-maliing and breaking the circuit between said switch terminals.

2. In an adapter, a pair of insulating buttons, standards spacing the same apart to afford a switch chamber, a screw shell surrounding said chamber, an insulatin lining for said screw shell, a switch mec anism arranged therein, a center contact associated with said shell to form therewith the plug contacts of the fitting, a second pair of screw shell and center contacts forming the receptacle contacts of the fitting, means for connecting one of the plug contacts and one of the receptacle contacts to one of the standards to establish constant electrical connection therebetween, a switch terminal associated with the other of the plug contacts, a cooperating switch terminal associated with the other spacing standard, and a switch member for making and break ing the circuit between said switch terminals.

3. In an adapter, a plug member comprising at its entering end, a shouldered insulating button recessed in its inner face to form a well, a screw shell surronding the button and having a flange resting on its shoulder, a center contact on said button, a switch terminal strap extending into the said well in the inner face of the button and connected to the center contact. a cooperat ing switch terminal, a switch spindle extending into said well, and a switch bar rotating on said spindle to make or break circuit through said switch terminals, standards arranged within said screw shell but insulated therefrom, a second insulating button con nected to said standards, screw shell and center contacts for a receptacle supported on said second connection, means for connecting the receptacle screw shell contact with one of said standards, and means for conmeeting the receptacle center contact with the other of said standards.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

LUDWIG STENDAHL. 

